Some families assume that bedsores, also called pressure sores or decubitus ulcers, are just something that happens when an elderly person spends a lot of time in bed. That assumption is wrong, and it can be dangerous. In most cases, a bedsore is a red flag for nursing home neglect, and no family should accept it as a normal part of a loved one's care. If you have noticed one on a parent or grandparent and you are considering speaking with a Norfolk personal injury lawyer, understanding how these wounds form is the first step toward knowing whether something went wrong.
We have represented injured clients across Virginia and North Carolina since 1985, and injury law is the only kind of work we do. You can learn more about that history and focus at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp. Nursing home neglect cases are among the most difficult for families to face, and they are also among the most preventable.
What a Bedsore Actually Is
A bedsore develops when a person cannot move on their own and is not repositioned often enough. When someone who is elderly, weak, or physically restrained stays in one position too long, pressure builds at certain points of the body. That pressure cuts off healthy circulation and blocks oxygen from reaching the skin and tissue. Left long enough, the skin and the tissue beneath it begin to die.
These wounds tend to form over bony areas where there is little natural cushioning. Pressure sores most often appear on the heels, ankles, hips, and tailbone, and they can develop over a period of hours or days. They show up in patients confined to a bed and in patients confined to a wheelchair alike.
Doctors describe bedsores in four stages, ranging from stage one, where the skin is red but still intact, to stage four, where the wound extends deep into muscle and bone. The earlier a sore is caught, the more treatable it is. Stage one and stage two sores usually respond well to care. Once a sore reaches stage three or stage four, treatment becomes far more involved and may require debridement of dead tissue, surgery, or even skin grafts.
Why Bedsores Point to Neglect
A bedsore is very often preventable. The single most effective step is simple repositioning every couple of hours. When a facility fails to do that basic task, sores form. So when a nursing home or rehabilitation patient develops a pressure sore, it is usually a sign that staff has not been turning or moving that resident as often as they should.
The scale of the problem is significant. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that roughly one in ten nursing home residents develops a pressure sore. Given that these wounds are largely avoidable with proper care, that number reflects a widespread failure to follow basic protocols rather than an unavoidable medical reality.
A knowledgeable Norfolk nursing home injury lawyer will look past the sore itself and examine the care records, because a bedsore rarely stands alone. It usually signals other lapses in the resident's day-to-day care.
Other Conditions That Make Bedsores Worse
Repositioning is the main issue, but it is not the only one. Several other factors, most of them also tied to neglect, raise the risk that a resident will develop a pressure sore.
- Malnutrition, which weakens the skin and slows healing, and which is itself often a sign of neglect
- Improper use of physical restraints, which limits a resident's ability to shift position
- Overmedication, which can leave a resident too sedated to move or ask for help
- Excess moisture from unchanged bedding or clothing, which breaks down the skin
- Poor skin hygiene, when residents are not cleaned and inspected regularly
Each of these points back to the same root cause. A properly staffed facility that follows its own care plans repositions residents, keeps them clean and dry, feeds them well, and inspects their skin daily. When those things do not happen, bedsores are one of the first visible results.
The Serious Risks of an Untreated Bedsore
A pressure sore is not just painful, though the pain alone is reason enough for concern. Left untreated, these wounds can lead to severe complications. Infection is common, and in the worst cases a sore can progress to sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection that spreads through the body. Deep, advanced sores can reach the bone and cause bone infections. For frail, elderly residents, these complications can be fatal.
That is why a bedsore should never be brushed off. What may look like a small red patch of skin can become a deep, dangerous wound in a matter of days if the underlying neglect continues.
How We Approach These Cases
Proving nursing home neglect takes careful work. The wound itself tells part of the story, but the facility's own records tell the rest. Our approach involves reviewing care charts to show whether a resident was actually being repositioned, whether staff performed routine skin inspections, and whether the resident was being kept clean, fed, and hydrated. We also work with nursing and wound care professionals who can explain to a jury that a particular sore was preventable.
We handle nothing but injury law, and that includes nursing home neglect claims. That focus lets us recognize the patterns that separate an unavoidable medical event from a failure of care.
Our results reflect that experience. In one Norfolk case involving a facility's failure to properly respond to a patient's deteriorating condition, we obtained a $2.23 million verdict for a family whose loved one developed sepsis and died after surgery. Every case turns on its own facts, but outcomes like that come from
Talk to Us About Your Loved One's Care
If your family member has developed bedsores in a nursing home or care facility, a Norfolk personal injury lawyer at Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can review the care records, help you understand whether neglect played a role, and pursue a claim on your family's behalf. Contact us at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation. We have offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Norfolk, and Chesapeake, and we are ready to stand up for your loved one and hold a negligent facility accountable.
